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A man was fixing a Point Breeze home when his nephew walked in and pointed a gun at him.
A 39-year-old man was instructing a 52-year-old employee that was working on a home on the 2200 block of Mifflin Street, Detective Danielle Tolliver of South Detective Division said. Following the interaction, he went to the first floor of the home where he was met with a loud bang coming from the dining room. The rear door was allegedly forced open by Richard Cunningham, 25, of the 1700 block of South 21st Street, who is the 39-year-old’s nephew through marriage. Cunningham is believed to have stood in the doorway with two men standing behind him and pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at him.
Police believe the home invasion is the result of an ongoing family dispute, said Sgt. Gwen Bartlett of South Detectives.
The uncle told police, “I looked directly into his eyes for about two to three seconds and then ran towards the front door of the house,” Tolliver said.
The man ran south on Hemberger Street toward Snyder Avenue, Tolliver said. The employee in the basement heard the commotion but did not realize what was going. He fled through a basement window and caught up to the 39-year-old to find out what had happened.
The two flagged down police, Tolliver said. No one was injured and nothing was reported missing.
The following day at 3 p.m., Cunningham turned himself in and was charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, aggravated assault, firearm violations and related offenses.
Contact Staff Writer Amanda Snyder at asnyder@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
